Tarantino Soundtracks

Packed full of sharp dialogue and bloody fight scenes, starring some of the best acting talent out there, Quentin Taratino’s films have left an indelible mark on modern cinema. His filmmaking style is instantly recognisable, paying homage to classic films of the 70s, whilst also carving out their own unique aesthetic. Music plays no small role in Tarantino’s vision, with pop classics and obscure gems playing out from the car radios and jukeboxes of almost every character we meet. Thinking back to any one of the director’s films, it’s hard to imagine the key scenes without their iconic soundtracks - the suited up gangsters strutting along to the sound of George Baker’s ‘Little Green Bag’, the screeching sirens of Quincey Jones’s ‘Ironside’ in Kill Bill or the iconic diner dance scene in Pulp Fiction. 

When asked about the role of music in his films, Tarantino has said that, for him, choosing the music for the opening scene is the most important starting point. It creates the “personality of the movie” and provides the inspiration for the whole story to follow. Take the opening credits of Pulp Fiction, for instance, in which the loud, brash sound of Dick Dale’s surf track ‘Misirlou’ gives the audience a glimpse of the wild story that’s about to unfold. Tarantino’s film Jackie Brown opens with Bobby Womack’s ‘Across 110th Street’, paying homage to the 70s blaxploitation films from which the film takes its inspiration. The use of ‘Little Green Bag’ at the start of Reservoir Dogs, gives the characters a slick, cool-headed and unshakable edge, which we learn to be untrue as the film unravels. 

Contrasting the soundtrack with what’s on screen is something we see a lot in Taratino’s movies. The director manipulates our emotions by taking the songs we love and placing them in violent or hard-to-watch situations. Our pre-existing connection to the music means we react differently to what we’re seeing, making us complicit in the scenes we watch. There’s the moment we watch a man’s ear being cut off to the sound of Stealers Wheel in Reservoir Dogs and the incredibly upbeat, positive track ‘Nobody But Me’ that plays during the bloody Kill Bill fight scene. 

We also see cover versions of songs being used as a way of making the familiar seem strange and uncertain. This happens in his most recent film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, in which the Jose Feliciano cover of ‘California Dreamin’ subverts the positive, upbeat feeling of the original with a sound that’s more melancholy and wistful. There’s also Santa Esmeralda’s cover of ‘Don’t Let Me Be Understood’ in Kill Bill, where flamenco hand claps and rising horns of the track contrast completely with what we see on screen. 

These soundtracks create a lasting impression that sticks with us long after the scenes in which they feature. As Tarantino said of his musical selections, “when you do it right, and you hit it right, then the effect is you can never really hear this song again without thinking about that image from the movie.” That’s probably true. After all, how many Tarantino fans could listen to ‘Little Green Bag’ without thinking of that iconic scene in Reservoir Dogs?